Ifans and Sevigny spy roles in UK drugs movie

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The true story of international drug dealer and UK spy Howard Marks is aiming to give moviegoers a buzz.

Rhys Ifans, Chloe Sevigny and David Thewlis are in final negotiations to star in "Mr. Nice," writer-director Bernard Rose's adaptation of Marks' 2002 best-selling autobiography.

Ifans will play Britain's one-time most wanted man, a late-'60s-era Oxford grad and teacher who turned to drug smuggling out of boredom and to impress his future wife Judy (Sevigny). While enlisting the help of an Irish Republican Army boss (Thewlis) for a hashish job, he was recruited by a British intelligence officer for a loose network of informants.

The charming criminal assumed the alias Mr. Nice. After encounters with the Mafia and CIA and nearly 30 tons of pot smuggling, he spent seven years in prison.

Ifans is best known to U.S. audiences for roles in "Notting Hill" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." Sevigny is alternating her duties on HBO's "Big Love" with films including "Zodiac." Thewlis appeared in the past three "Harry Potter" films.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter